Seattle is a Welcoming City

As a Welcoming City, Seattle is proud to be a member of Welcoming America, a coalition of cities, municipalities, organizations, and others focused on inclusion and creating environments in which everyone can contribute to their greatest potential. As a Welcoming City, all departments consider the policies and practices we need that fit our local context and that reduce the barriers to success that immigrants and refugees often face.

On Thursday, November 24, Mayor Ed Murray signed an Executive Order reaffirming Seattle as a Welcoming City. The order states that City employees will not ask about the status of residents and all City services will be available to all residents, and it creates an Inclusive and Equitable City Cabinet that will coordinate City efforts to protect the civil liberties and civil rights of Seattle residents. Additionally, the City will set aside $250,000 to address the needs of unauthorized immigrant students enrolled in Seattle Public Schools and their families.

The Executive Order directs City employees and departments on the following items:

City employees will not ask residents seeking City services about immigration status, unless police officers have a reasonable suspicion that a person is committing or has committed a felony criminal-law violation.

Seattle Police officers will continue to defer detainer requests from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement to King County, as jails are in King County's jurisdiction.

City departments will issue a letter to all contractors receiving General Fund dollars to clarify and inform about these policies.

An Inclusive and Equitable City Cabinet will be created, made up of representatives from:

Seattle Police Department,

Office of Civil Rights,

Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs,

Department of Neighborhoods,

Office of Economic Development,

Office of Policy and Innovation,

City Budget Office,

Office of Intergovernmental Relations,

Department of Education and Early Learning, and

Seattle Human Services Department

The Inclusive and Equitable City Cabinet develop a programmatic investment strategy for $250,000 to directly address the needs of unauthorized immigrant children in Seattle Public Schools and their families.

The Inclusive and Equitable City Cabinet will develop public awareness efforts around hate speech and crimes; review potential implications on City departments of any new initiatives and intent of the incoming Presidential administration; collaborate with immigrant and refugee communities to identify areas of need and new or expanded efforts for partnership; and develop a specific agenda and action plan to help the Mayor build a coalition of cities during the upcoming West Coast Mayor's Summit and the U.S. Conference of Mayors gatherings.

Below is a brief timeline of actions that the City of Seattle has taken since the Welcoming City resolution.

December 4, 2016The City of Seattle hosted its second-ever Citizenship Workshop, organized by the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. Over 700 volunteers and attendees flooded into North Seattle College. Of those, over 375 volunteers, double the amount of the previous workshop, assisted the over 325 attendees with each of their naturalization applications, getting them on the path to citizenship.

December 14, 2016Councilmember Lorena González who is also chair of the Gender Equity, Safe Communities and New Americans Committee organized an Immigrant and Refugee Roundtable featuring representatives from several immigrant and refugee organizations to discuss concerns and solutions following the recent Presidential election. Based on the discussion, Councilmember González developed a plan of action to support the safety and rights of immigrants and refugees in Seattle.

January 20, 2017, Inauguration DayOver 1,300 attendees arrived at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center to receive free immigration legal assistance, free guidance with their N-400 naturalization application, and/or to attend an immigration Know Your Rights training. Over 800 people showed up at the event dubbed, "Seattle United for Immigrant and Refugee Affairs" to volunteer their time for immigrant and refugee families.

Last week of January 2017 The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs launched an ethnic media campaign in newspapers serving Seattle area Asian communities who celebrate Lunar New Year. The ads were in Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean languages. The ads wished the readers a Happy Lunar New Year and contained messaging about how Seattle is a city where City staff and police officers won’t ask you for your immigration status, as part of their everyday duties.

February 1, 2017At 7:00pm, people in Seattle and all over the Puget Sound region participated in the City of Seattle’s Shine a Light event showing support for immigrants and Refugees. Hundreds of people posted pictures to social media using the hashtag #ShineALight. Together, the region showed hope and unity as residents came together to fight back against dark forces seeking to divide us.

February 8, 2017The Seattle Symphony hosted a free concert, "Music Beyond Borders: Voices from the Seven," featuring music from the seven countries affected by the president's Muslim ban (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen). The event quickly sold out, but the symphony livestreamed the concert on their Facebook page. You can watch it here.

February 17, 2017Mayor Ed Murray and City Attorney Pete Holmes directed the City of Seattle to join an amicus brief in Darweesh v. Trump, seeking an injunction against President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. Seattle joined several cities from across the country on this brief, noting the ban’s impact on safety, the economy, and security.

February 21, 2017Mayor Ed Murray delivered the State of the City address from the Idris Mosque in North Seattle, sending a powerful message that Seattle stands with its Muslim residents against the Muslim Travel Ban set forth by the federal administration’s recent executive order. The speech offered a unique reflection of Seattle’s values as Welcoming City.

February 21, 2017The City of Seattle issued FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to answer questions about President Donald Trump’s executive orders, as well as the president's plans for DACA and sanctuary cities. If the administration doesn’t respond within the allotted 20 business days, the City of Seattle will sue.

February 22, 2017The City of Seattle joined with the bipartisan immigration advocacy coalition New American Economy (NAE) in their nationwide release of new research dubbed, "Map the Impact" on the economic contributions of immigrants in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metropolitan Area.

March 2, 2017Over 300 people attended the Immigration 101 Training for Allies and Service Providers sponsored by the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and the Seattle Public Library. Northwest Immigrant Rights Project executive director Jorge Barón presented information about due process rights for immigrants and how allies can best advocate for immigrant communities. You can watch the training here.

March 2, 2017The Seattle Office for Civil Rights and Seattle Police Department officially launched their Bias Hurts Campaign, making it easy for Seattle residents to report discriminatory harassment or violence that interferes with your civil rights and is directed at you because of your race, religion, gender and/or gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, and more. Residents can call the hotline or file online. The website also includes materials in 13 other languages.

March 3, 2017The Mayor’s Office approved language consistent with our Welcoming City policies for all City of Seattle departments to use for materials, flyers, and other collateral. Departments are encouraged to incorporate this language in signage, printed materials, email signatures, etc.

“Seattle is a Welcoming City because we believe in inclusion and equity. City employees do not ask about citizenship status and serve all residents regardless of immigration status. Immigrants and refugees are welcome here.”

March 21, 2017Mayor Ed Murray and the City of Seattle participated in the U.S. Conference of Mayors Day of Action for Immigration. Seattle joined with other cities across the country to show their support for immigrants and refugees and to call for comprehensive immigration reform. The City of Seattle also issued a "Day of Action" Proclamation that reaffirms Seattle as an inclusive, open, and welcoming city and that calls on the federal government to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

All City of Seattle employees, especially frontline staff, were encouraged to attend an Immigration 101 workshop facilitated by Northwest Immigrant Rights Project executive director Jorge Barón. You can watch the workshop on the Seattle Channel here. Lastly, the City of Seattle partnered with OneAmerica to allow for residents to email/call their federal elected officials to communicate to them about comprehensive immigration reform. You can start by clicking here. Mayor Murray signed onto the U.S. Conference of Mayor's letter to Congress calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

March 29, 2017The City of Seattle, under the direction of Mayor Ed Murray and City Attorney Pete Holmes, filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's "sanctuary cities" Executive Order (No. 13768, 82 Fed. Reg. 8799).

April 18, 2017The nationally recognized Ready to Work program that helps train immigrants and refugees and place them in living wage jobs opens in Seattle's North End, with Literacy Source as the host organization. Ready to Work has already been running in South Seattle in collaboration with Asian Counseling and Referral Service and HomeSight.

April 28, 2017Mayor Ed Murray joined by Councilmembers M. Lorena González and Tim Burgess signed the ordinance creating a $1 million legal defense fund for Seattle residents and workers who cannot afford legal representation or services in immigration proceedings.

May 13, 2017Forty-two immigrant family members who have experienced the juvenile justice system and 12 Seattle police officers celebrate the completion of the first-ever Immigrant Family Institute, a groundbreaking program intended to keep immigrant young people out of the criminal justice system.

May 20, 2017The New Citizen Program conducts its first "citizenship clinic" with Asian Counseling and Referral Service and OneAmerica. This is the first of a series of small-scale monthly events for 2017. Each clinic has a goal of getting 30-40 immigrants on the path to citizenship. You can see the list of citizenship clinics here.

June 2, 2017The City of Seattle joins the Cities for Citizenship national campaign Naturalize NOW to help lawful permanent residents all over the U.S. become citizens. The goal of this naturalization surge is to mobilize one million immigrants for citizenship in 2017.

June 20, 2017Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine, along with the King County and Seattle City Councils, officially release a joint request for proposals (RFP) to provide legal services, guidance, and referrals to legal services for immigrants and refugees from the $1.55 million Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants and Refugees.

July 18, 2017The New Citizen Campaign officially launches new website: newcitizencampaign.org. The site acts as a central hub for citizenship events, programs, services, and information for the Seattle-King County community.

Below is a brief summary of additional policies, actions, and programs that make Seattle a Welcoming City.

The Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs was created to increase immigrant integration in Seattle.

Created in 2012 and significantly expanded in 2014, the mission of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs is to improve the lives of Seattle's immigrant and refugee residents. OIRA works to strengthen immigrant and refugee communities by engaging them in decisions about the City of Seattle's future, and improving the City's programs and services to meet the needs of all constituents. Learn more about OIRA's work here.

The Seattle Immigrant and Refugee Commission was created to provide a vehicle for immigrant and refuge leaders to advise city officials on pertinent issues.

The Immigrant and Refugee Commission was created as a result of Seattle's Immigrant and Refugee Report and Action Plan released in 2007. With the unprecedented growth in the foreign-born population since the 1980s, Seattle has become an increasingly multi-cultural city, rich with diversity. In keeping with the Race and Social Justice Initiative, the mayor and city council want to ensure that city government provides high-quality customer service to all, including immigrants and refugees living and working in Seattle. The Immigrant and Refugee Commission helps the city reach its goals. Learn more about the commission here.

The Gender Equity, Safe Communities & New Americans Committee has a specific focus on protecting immigrant and refugee rights.

The purpose of the Seattle City Council Gender Equity, Safe Communities & New Americans Committee is to provide policy direction and oversight and to deliberate and make recommendations on legislative matters relating to: law enforcement, with special emphasis on programs and strategies to reduce crime, domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and youth violence; implementation of the Settlement Agreement between the Department of Justice and the City of Seattle regarding the Seattle Police Department; fire prevention and suppression; emergency medical services; criminal justice; coordination with municipal, regional, state and federal agencies engaged in public safety issues; immigrant and refugee rights; gender equity issues; and emergency preparedness, management, and response.

Resolution 31339 - 2014, prioritizes family unity and urges President Obama and Congress to replace the enforcement-oriented federal immigration system with an immigration policy that keeps families together and respects the right of all workers to support their families.

Resolution 31539 - 2014, calls for Obama administration to replace enforcement-oriented system with one that prioritizes keeping families together. Also mentions again that organizations funded by the city shall not consider immigration status for accessing services, among other efforts to strengthen communication between immigrant communities and the city.

Executive Order 2016-08 - 2016, reaffirms existing policies and provides guidance to city employees on protecting immigrants' access to police protection and public services and establishes an "Inclusive and Equitable City Cabinet" to coordinate city efforts to protect the civil liberties and civil rights of all Seattle residents.

The City of Seattle partners with a number of community-based organizations that provide services for undocumented/unauthorized residents.

The City of Seattle has partnered with Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union to offer low-interest loans for aspiring Americans.

In partnership with the City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA), Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union (SMCU) launched two citizenship loan products in June 2016 to help low-income immigrants and refugees pay for citizenship applications and increase access to banking services. More than 22,000 legal permanent residents (LPRs) in Seattle are eligible to naturalize and more than half are low-income. Many eligible residents do not naturalize because they can’t afford the total $725 application fee (as of December 23, 2016). Learn more about these citizenship loans here.

The City of Seattle's Seattle Center offers year-round events celebrating the diversity of the Pacific Northwest.

Festál, presented by Seattle Center in partnership with community organizations, is a year-long series of FREE events that honors the cultural richness and diversity of the Pacific Northwest. Festál plays a vital part in Seattle Center efforts to connect our dynamic and varied communities. Learn more about our events here.

Other Pro-immigration Coalitions

The City of Seattle is a proud member of several coalitions supportive of immigrant and refugee issues.

Cities for ActionCities for Action is a coalition of over 100 mayors and municipal leaders fighting for federal immigration reform and galvanizing the movement by launching inclusive policies and programs at the local level.

Cities for CitizenshipCities for Citizenship is a major national initiative aimed at increasing citizenship among eligible U.S. permanent residents and encouraging cities across the country to invest in citizenship programs.

Welcoming AmericaA coalition of municipalities across the U.S. that intentionally integrate pro-immigrant and pro-refugee policies, programs, and actions throughout all levels of government.